…10 females on defensive driving
By Victoria Nnakaike
Dangote Articulated Truck Driving School has graduated 50 Special Truck Drivers, out of which are ten women who were trained on defensive driving that lasted for three months.
According a statement signed by the spokesman of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, the Divisional Director of Dangote Cement Plc, Obajana, Kogi State, Ajay Singh disclosed that the articulated driving school was aimed at taming the tide of auto crash in Nigeria.
He said that the company has a zero tolerance for auto crash, which informed the setting up of different programmes, in collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Head of Human Resources, Azeez Adeniyi, who also spoke, said that the Dangote Articulated Truck Driving School, was unique, being the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria, as he urged graduates to maximise the advantages from the training, adding that it was a rare and golden opportunity to have passed through the school.
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The school manager, Daniel Marcus Akuso said that some of the courses offered for the Batch A include: Civic Education, English, Mathematics, Defensive Driving, Truck Handling, Maintenance Technology, DCT Administration Procedures, Root Cause Analysis, Health and Science, Road Signs and Codes, adding that the graduates will now undertake a six months’ attachment to enable them acquire practical experience.
Mukhtar Uranus, deputy Road Commandant, (OC Instructor) of the FRSC attached to Dangote Driving School, said his agency plays a significant role in the training and certification of old drivers and newly recruited trainees.
“We teach them defensive driving, road signs, responsibilities of the driver, driving culture, and then certify them. These are Special Drivers,” he said.
Representative of Fantique Driving Centre, South Africa, Jacques Van Heerden, said the graduates were trained on defensive driving, assuring that if they abide by the lessons learned from the courses, it would help Nigeria in reducing the menace of auto crash.
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On his part, Ravig Kumar, chief general manager, Maintenance Department, expressed the optimism that the female drivers, especially, would make Nigeria proud, while urging them not to disappoint the company, wherever they may find themselves.
Speaking on behalf of the graduates, Ajayi Kehinde Daniel, said: “We are not just drivers, but defensive drivers. Throughout this period of training, we have been exposed to the causes of road accidents, and how to avoid them. Some of these causes, if not all, are actually avoidable.”
